Communication Director

Dataone; Vineland (NJ); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

DataOne is seeking a senior communications leader in the United States to define and deploy the company’s US communications strategy. The role covers external media relations, local community engagement in Vineland, and institutional public affairs to support permitting and stakeholder trust.

The incumbent will also shape the employer brand for US hiring and align internal/brand governance with the Group guidelines.

Qualifications

• Higher education in communications, journalism, political science, public affairs or equivalent.
• 7–10 years in corporate communications or public affairs, incl. 3+ years in heavy infrastructure.
• Experience communicating projects to US communities and elected officials, esp. permitting/opposition contexts.
• Crisis communications experience in industrial/construction-site environments.
• Experience with non-US HQ and multi-time-zone teams is a plus.

Responsibilities

• External communications and media relations in the US.
• Build and manage US media database across sectors.
• Prepare spokespeople for public appearances with briefs and Q&A.
• Lead DataOne's presence at industry events and secure speaking slots.
• Local acceptance and community relations with stakeholders in Vineland and Cumberland County.
• Map stakeholders, design engagement programs, and respond to residents’ questions.
• Prepare institutional materials and ensure messaging consistency with permitting data.
• Develop crisis communications framework and on-call coverage.
• Employer brand and recruitment content for US market.
• Internal communications and brand governance aligned with Group guidelines.

Skills

Written English

Public speaking

Technical communication

French language

Media tools & budget mgmt

Education

Higher education in communications/journalism/public affairs

Job description

Main Mission

• Define and deploy DataOne's communications strategy in the United States, in line with the Group's brand platform and governance, around three objectives:
• Industry awareness and credibility: Establish DataOne as a recognized sustainable AI infrastructure player among specialist media, clients and the wider ecosystem.
• Local acceptance: Build and maintain trusted relationships with stakeholders in Vineland and Cumberland County, and secure a stable environment around the project.
• Employer attractiveness: Support the recruitment and onboarding of US teams in a tight talent market.

Responsibilities

1- External Communications and Media Relations

• Build and manage the US media database: data center and cloud specialist media, national business press, energy and construction press, and regional press in southern New Jersey.
• Produce corporate content: press releases, press kits, talking points, project fact sheets, client messaging, web and LinkedIn content.
• Prepare and support spokespersons (US General Management, Technical Management) before every public appearance, with briefs, difficult questions and red lines.
• Lead DataOne's presence at industry trade shows and conferences, and secure speaking opportunities on panels.

2- Local Acceptance and Community Relations

• Map local stakeholders and keep the stakeholder map up to date: City of Vineland, City Council, planning departments, Vineland Municipal Electric Utility (VMEU), Cumberland County, Chamber of Commerce, residents' associations, environmental organizations and educational institutions.
• Design the local engagement program: public meetings, open-house days, construction-site information points and a mechanism for responding to residents' questions.
• Prepare DataOne's interventions at public meetings and council sessions, with materials, talking points and anticipation of objections.
• Translate technical topics (electrical connection, cooling, noise, water and construction traffic) into understandable, verifiable and non-promotional messages.
• Monitor the local environment: press review, social media and community groups, and alert management to early warning signals.

3- Institutional Communications and Public Affairs

• Support relationships with state and county institutional stakeholders, in coordination with US General Management and Legal.
• Prepare institutional materials: project presentation materials, economic impact briefs and contributions to public consultations.
• Ensure consistency between public messaging, commitments made during permitting procedures and the project's actual data.

4- Sensitive and Crisis Communications

• Develop and maintain the US crisis communications framework: scenarios, decision trees, crisis team, designated spokesperson and pre-approved talking points.
• In particular, cover the following scenarios: construction-site incident or workplace accident, operational incident or service outage, organized local opposition, environmental controversy, social issue, cybersecurity incident and unfavorable press article.
• Provide communications on-call coverage in the event of an incident, in coordination with headquarters and Legal.
• Conduct a post-incident review after each event and update the framework.

5- Employer Brand and Recruitment Support

Adapt the Group employer brand for the US market and provide content for recruitment channels.

Design local awareness campaigns to support recruitment of technical and operations profiles.

Work with the recruitment team and US HR on employment events, partnerships with local educational institutions and employee content.

6- Internal Communications and Brand Governance

• Relay and adapt Group internal communications for US teams, taking construction-site and operations populations into account.
• Ensure compliance with the Group visual identity guidelines and logobook across all materials produced in the United States, including those of providers and partners.
• Select and manage local agencies and providers: media relations, creative, audiovisual production and site signage.
• Track the US communications budget and report results according to the KPIs defined with headquarters.

Requirements:

1- Education and Experience

• Higher education in communications, journalism, political science, public affairs or equivalent.
• Seven to ten years of experience in corporate communications, media relations or public affairs, including at least three years in a heavy infrastructure sector: data centers, energy, industry, logistics real estate, construction or utilities.
• Demonstrated experience communicating projects to US local communities and elected officials, ideally in a permitting or opposition context.
• Experience in crisis communications in an industrial or construction-site environment.
• Experience working with a non-US headquarters and teams across multiple time zones is a plus

2- Skills

• Excellent written English, native or equivalent level. Ability to write quickly, clearly and without jargon.
• French is a plus: headquarters and part of the teams work in French. This is not a disqualifying criterion.
• Strong public-speaking skills and ability to command a room in a public meeting.
• Ability to quickly understand technical subjects and explain them to non-technical audiences.
• Proficiency with content-production and media-monitoring tools, agency management and budget management.

3- Expected Qualities

• Autonomy: this is the first communications role in the United States and requires building before managing.
• Factual rigor: no public statement should go beyond what the project can substantiate.
• Composure and availability in sensitive situations.
• Team spirit and respect for Group approval processes.